Just when I thought that the only shows on television right now are reruns and tons of weird reality programming, the new Supreme Court Justice hearing loom in the near future. I might even be inspired to install a TV wall mount for my office to view the proceedings while I am working.

Before the 1950s, Supreme Court Justice nominees didn’t even appear before the Senate Committee, the committee would just deliberate and make a decision. Now it is much more like a three ring circus. Senators make long-winded remarks instead of asking questions, and the questions that are asked are sometimes focused on the mundane. Instead, the committee should be focusing on two things: the past and the present.

The Past. Did Judge Sotomayor make decisions based on fact and not on emotion? Did she faithfully uphold the law and the constitution? Or did she try to make policy from the bench?

The Future. Does Sotomayor believe that Supreme Court judges can discard laws to make their own policy? What is her view of the Court and their responsibilities and how would she fit it?

Unfortunately, I think we will see a lot of pandering from the left and right and lots of long-winded speeches.